Dictionary

bicycle face en · NOUN

Etymology

Coined by Dr. Arthur Shadwell.

Meanings

1. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A deformation or strained appearance of the face, said to result from riding a bicycle.
   • To him also belongs the distinction of originating the term "bicycle face," which has been so generally adopted to express the anxious, strained look many bicyclists wear. The hidden dangers of the exercise, in the opinion of Dr. Shadwell, threaten women, and more particularly young women […] 1897, Medical Record, volume 52, page 90:
   • A writer in the Christian Intelligencer says that the true explanation of the bicycle face has not yet been given by the doctors […] 1895, Medical Record, page 308:

Forms